Parques eólicos e desenvolvimento turístico: diagnóstico integrado nas comunidades de Mundaú e Emboaca, litoral oeste do Ceará

Abstract

The different forms of use and occupation of coastal areas of Ceará have caused significant social and environmental changes and affected the dynamics and ecological balance of these environments. The chaotic character of the production of the coastal space of the state of Ceará led to strong landscape, social, environmental and cultural changes in these areas. The natural attractions present in the villages of Mundaú and Emboaca have turned them into areas of high tourist and economic interest, so these locations have been undergoing a gradual process of urbanization. Due to the new activities developed, these communities have suffered from various environmental and social problems, mainly associated with land grabbing and incompatible uses of their environmental systems; which has endangered their landscape balances and negatively affected local residents. This research aimed to make an integrated diagnosis of the landscape scenarios of the Mundaú and Emboaca coastlines, focusing on the identification of the main forms of use and occupation of these environments, as well as the main socio-environmental problems associated with the urbanization process and the activities developed, with the purpose of generate useful information for local environmental planning and management. The literature review considered the landscape as a category of analysis, the foundations of the Geoecology of Landscapes and the course of occupation of the coast of Ceará and Trairi, focusing on tourism and wind energy production, which are important reordering agents of these environments. In addition, the environmental perception was addressed, emphasizing its concept and its importance in carrying out environmental diagnoses. The methodological procedures adopted in the research followed the following steps: organization, inventory, analysis and diagnosis. The activities developed during the research phases were: bibliographic and cartographic survey, definition of the sampling method, field visits, which included the application of forms to the residents of both localities and the characterization of the local physical and environmental conditions. and the statistical analysis of the data. The obtained results allowed the socioeconomic characterization of the studied communities. We also identified the geoecological units present in the investigated section, their main forms of use and occupation, the present environmental problems and the predominant ecodynamics. The positioning of the residents about the positive and negative environmental impacts generated by the tourism and wind farms indicated that the communities suffer from problems such as the rising cost of living, decrease of peace and tranquility, real estate speculation, the sprawl, construction of residences and enterprises in environmentally improper areas, the privatization of areas, the modification of the landscape, among others. The main positive points cited were the generation of employment and income, the encouragement of local commercial activity and the improvement of the image of the communities as a tourist destination. The information gathered allowed the identification of local limitations and potentialities, as well as the elaboration of management proposals for these environments. A functional zoning was also prepared for the Emboaca community as a local development proposal.